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Elsewhere on here I quipped that I did not want to become the "Lina Khan of the right" but some concentration of economic power against the public interest are hard to un-see.
That’s what basic income looks like. It’d be interesting to have a researcher look at this natural experiment to see how they and their kids are doing.
So, how do we prevent unions in other sectors from acting this way?
Teachers, cops, car manufacturing?
Let them all sit at home and take the money. Automate the entire thing. It will still save you billions.
When they said we were captured by special interest groups, we didn’t fully understand how deep the rot went
Meanwhile, Amazon delivery drivers are pissing in water bottles to get PRIME DEAL DAYS
shit delivered on time while technically being employed by DELIVERY SERVICE PARTNERS and not Amazon directly so that workers stay separated.
This was never what unions were meant for 
shit delivered on time while technically being employed by DELIVERY SERVICE PARTNERS and not Amazon directly so that workers stay separated.
This was never what unions were meant for 
Yet another Chris Morris sketch brought to life.
“It’s the biggest layoff in American industrial history. 35 thousand jobs in one fell swoop - gone!”
“35 thousand?”
“Yes!”
“Peter there’s only 25 thousand people at the plant.”
“That’s right Chris, mass redundancy on an
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One of those situations where you step back, evaluate the absurdity, and bulldoze the whole thing and start over
This is pretty much a "fix it in tax policy" play, except the tax is a direct payment from the employer that saves costs to the employees who lose their jobs. The benefits to automation are literally being split between employer and employee.
As someone who is uninformed on this particular issue, your comment adds absolutely no value, just makes me more confused.
It is crazy, but a lot of people on here (myself included) kind of argued for something similar as a concession to increased automation. Though 50% of workers is certainly high for current levels of automation. In 20 years...
Seems offshore unloading into small autonomous boats would work pretty well. Or some other tech work around. Self powered containers?
I know most Rome analogies stink but if we’re doing them then these unions are the Praetorian guard. They can only be appeased by giving even bigger gifts.
Anyone got the details on the WSJ article linked? Not sure I trust the Post to accurately characterize it.
Seems like this would increase the price of goods imported into the United States
The longshoreman are traditionally one of the two most corrupt unions in the United States. It is long past time for the container fees to be phased out. Everyone who was a longshoreman when containerization was brought in will have retired by now.
So they already have the mechanism in place to automate ports, by pacifying the union via "container royalties".
i can't tell if it is insane, or a smart way to share the benefits of automation with the working class? but then, wouldn't they want more automation so they can collect the "share" ? hmmm
I subscribe to and your superb Econ blog.
The Dispatch should organize a Noah Smith - Scott Lincicome podcast on industrial policy and vis a vis, US National Security.
DougAz.
It's a grift, but that's ok because of who longshoremen are social class wise. They deserve the UBI.
Employers may negotiate job security to get technology accelerated under collective bargaining agreements.
but it also shows that INSIDE a given industry there should be a decrease in jobs as a result of innovations/automatization/digitalization.
i think in the mafia they call those "no show" jobs. and how many "no work" jobs are there as well?
Yes. For all the things we esteem unions for — creating the middle class and fighting for humane working conditions — there are also maddening, stupid problems like this.
why? seems to work.. strongest economy ever
it allowed the ports to automate more. this will be compeltely normal in the future with ai, people still get paid and jobs get replaced by ai.
This is the only solution if the elites don't want a Bolshevik revolution at home. It's basically UBI with caveats
COMMON UNION W. Based Dockworkers securing the retirement of former workers.
You think that’s insane? You should check out big pharma.
Tbf it is the compensation that made innovation a Pareto improvement instead of just a Kaldor Hicks improvement
Is it true though? There's no source in the original WSJ article and this paints a different unflattering picture of ILA worker compensation
So was there ever really a golden American age of fairness and meritocracy or has it always just been rent seeking winners screwing over everyone else?
Here in NJ - commonly known that mafia ties are still strong at the port. Not so much violence, but definitely kickbacks and no show jobs for people who are connected
Yeah I'm pretty pro union but these guys need to be obliterated. Literal Sopranos tier no-show jobs
Grifts like these are all around the USA, predominantely at Democrat controlled areas.
Democrats love their grifts
The Union has done a good job if you are not in one join one.
This is literally ur liberal policy against automation u retard
Okay hear me out: Federal jobs guarantee for all, where everyone gets a job as a dockworker?
what do you think?
No, this is great. Essentially workers get a package because innovation is going to eliminate their jobs. The package is paid for by the innovation as add’l profits are split between workers and employers in collective bargaining. It’s win win win.